James succeeded Elizabeth I as the closest living relative of the unmarried childless English monarch, through his descent from Henry VIII's sister Margaret Tudor. He was a popular monarch, but less skilled at governing than Elizabeth I had been. His taste for political absolutism, his mismanagement of the kingdom's funds, and his cultivation of unpopular favorites laid much of the groundwork that would lead to the deposition and execution of his son Charles I during the English Civil War. During James' own life, however, the government of the kingdom was relatively stable.

James VIKing of Scotland from 1567James IKing of England, Ireland from 1603

James became king of Scotland on July 24, 1567, at the age of 13 months, after his mother Mary, Queen of Scots was forced to abdicate. She fled to England, where she was imprisoned for the next 19 years. His father, Lord Darnley, was assassinated under mysterious circumstances shortly after James was born. James was formally crowned at the Church of the Holy Rood, Stirling on July 29, 1567. In deference to the religious proclivities of most of the Scots ruling class, he was brought up as a member of the Scottish protestant Kirk and educated by men with Presbyterian sympathies, though his mother was a Roman Catholic.

Along with Alfred the Great, King James is considered to have been one of the most intellectual and learned individuals ever to sit on any English, Scottish or British throne, and as a partial result, much of the cultural flourishing of Elizabethan England continued. James himself was talented scholar, and published several books in Latin. He is also remembered for authorizing the production of the King James Version of the Bible, the highly popular English translation from Greek and Hebrew; beyond that, he wrote several books himself. However, he lacked Elizabeth's business skills. His expenditures always outran his revenue, and after the death of the capable Earl of Salisbury there were no real attempts to put the government on a sound financial footing.

He also held the title of King of France, as had all his predecessors in the English throne since October 21, 1422 although by his time the title didn't come with an active claim of this throne. His own successors would hold the title till the 1801 Act of Union.

Few modern historians cast any doubt on the King's homosexuality and the fact that his sexuality and choice of male partners both as King of Scotland then later in London as King of England were the subject of gossip from the taverns to the Privy Council. His relationship as a teenager with fellow teenager Esmé Stuart, Seigneur d'Aubigny, Earl of Lennox was criticised by Scottish church leaders, who were part of a conspiracy to keep the young King and the young French courtier apart. Lennox, facing threats of death, was forced to leave Scotland. In the 1580s, King James openly kissed Francis Stewart Hepburn, Earl of Bothwell. Contemporary sources clearly hinted their relationship as sexual. When James inherited the English throne from Queen Elizabeth I in 1603, it was openly joked of the new English monarch in London that Rex fuit Elizabeth: nunc est regina Jacobus (Elizabeth was King: now James is Queen.)

Historians have debated whether James was unwise in his choice of male partners, from page-boy-turned-Gentleman-of-the-Bedchamber Robert Carr (made Earl of Somerset) to royal-cupbearer-turned-Earl-of-Buckingham, George Villiers, whose relationship with the King was discussed at the Privy Council (James called Villiers his 'wife' and he Villiers' 'husband'.) Buckingham in particular came to play a major part in the governance of the English kingdom, though historians differ on whether Buckingham's impact was positive or negative.

"Kings...have power of raising and casting down, of life and death, judges over all their subjects...and yet accountable to none but God only."

"A Scotch Presbytery agreeth as well with monarchy as God with the devil. Then Jack and Tom and Will and Dick shall meet, and at their pleasure censure me and my council...Until you find that I grow lazy, let that alone..."